Trump & Binance: Secret Talks for a US Comeback?

The former head of the largest cryptocurrency exchange denied the journalists' allegations, calling them an "attack on the president" of the United States.

According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump's family is discussing the possibility of acquiring a stake in Binance.US, the US division of the largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. According to sources quoted by the newspaper, negotiations have reportedly begun after Binance proposed a deal to bring the business back to the US.

Binance's founder, Changpeng Zhao, denied the journalists' claims, calling them an attack on Donald Trump and cryptocurrencies by the previous administration. He stated that he did not discuss any deal regarding Binance.US.

"Fact: I did not discuss the deal on Binance.US with... well, with anyone. It seems that the article was published as an attack on the president and cryptocurrencies, and that the residual forces of the previous administration's 'war on crypto' are still active," Zhao wrote on X.

In late 2023, Binance admitted guilt for violations of anti-money laundering laws and agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to the United States. The exchange's founder, Changpeng Zhao, spent four months in prison and, according to the WSJ, is now seeking a pardon from the Trump administration, which would include the expungement of his criminal record.

The Wall Street Journal also wrote that several options for structuring the deal are being discussed, including the possibility that the Trump family's participation would be formalised through World Liberty Financial, a crypto project associated with the president's children. According to the paper, the pardon granted to Zhao could facilitate Binance's return to the US, as well as pave the way for regulation of the exchange in the EU, where investors convicted of financial crimes cannot obtain licences.

Last September, Binance suspended its founder for life from any management role. However, Zhao has remained the exchange's majority shareholder, although he is not officially on the board. He has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of returning to management positions. The former Binance chief will now play an 'active role in mentoring and training startup founders' at venture capital fund YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs).

Binance's Presumed Plans To Re-enter the United States After Trump's Victory

According to the WSJ, the Binance exchange began looking for ways to re-enter the United States immediately after Trump's election victory. To achieve this, Binance created a working group led by its CEO Richard Teng.

Reporters reported that the Binance team would discuss a similar transaction to the one involving Tron ecosystem founder Justin Sun: in November 2024, Sun invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial while the SEC was conducting an investigation against him. In February of this year, the SEC suspended the lawsuit.

"More than 20 people have told me they were asked the question, 'Can you confirm that CZ struck a presidential pardon deal?' by the WSJ and other media outlets. If 20 people got in touch with me, they probably contacted hundreds. They were simply going out of their way to build a story for publication," Zhao wrote.